Rotten Boy
by rickysan
Summary: <html><head></head>Shintarou learns of Hibiya's experience in the never-ending world, and finds out how similar the both of them are. With feelings of empathy for the child, he swears to help him, along with the other members of the gang.</html>


_small warning: old writing. posted on tumblr (dec 2013). a kp secret santa gift_

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_"_You won't turn into a rotten boy like me,_"_

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Shintarou Kisaragi watched the twelve year old fidget on the sofa he was sitting on across the coffee table that was in between them, looking down on his lap rather than making eye contact with the older one. The two boys were left in the hideout, while the others went outside for their own errands.

Actually, a more accurate explanation for that is that Momo wanted his brother to have a sensible talk with the brat, mostly about his attitude and how he treats her badly even though she was obviously older than him. Shintarou, of course, rejected the idea, but Momo didn't take a 'no' for an answer.

The truth was that Momo's first choice was Kido, hoping that she would be able to talk some sense to Hibiya, but she was out buying groceries for dinner. Seto was at work, and Kano wasn't really the type of guy for these serious kind of talks. Besides, he wasn't at the base, probably goofing off somewhere out in the city. Mary wasn't even an option along with Ene, and while Konoha knew Hibiya longer than the others, he was such an airhead that he didn't really seem reliable when it came to these matters. And that left them with only Shintarou available.

Momo also figured that since he managed to tolerate the pixelated entity of mischief and pranks for a year by himself, he would be able to talk with Hibiya smoothly. Ene, as expected, laughed boisterously from the phone Konoha was holding.

Momo decided to accompany Mary with her daily walk, dragging Konoha, who still had Shintarou's phone, with them. She insisted that Shintarou and Hibiya should be left alone to talk, and so the three, with Ene in the phone, went out.

And that was how the two were sitting on separate sofas, a rather awkward silence hanging above them. Sighing, Shintarou straightened himself as he sat properly, facing Hibiya. He wanted this to end already, so he might as well do what his sister requested him to do. It wasn't like talking to a twelve year old was that hard, was it?

"Hibiya,"

"Don't talk to me, old man,"

Well, that was a great start. Shintarou stared at the kid in front of him, who was now showing him a slight scowl. The NEET showed an exasperated look, noticing now how a different kind of annoying Hibiya was from Ene.

He couldn't believe a kid was calling him an old man. "Don't call me an old man!"

Hibiya scoffed. "You can't even go outside without collapsing at least once; you seem like a weak, old man to me,"

Shintarou gaped at the snarky comment. It was true to a certain extent, but he was astounded that he was able to insult him with that. The red jacketed lad tried to counter him, "W-Well, I can't believe you're actually talking with a weak, old man then…!"

There was a small silence between them, before Hibiya deadpanned, "You do realize you insulted yourself more instead of me, right?"

Shintarou placed his hand on his face in embarrassment. He was such a pathetic person—pathetic enough to even insult himself unintentionally. He then sighed in defeat, before looking over at Hibiya was looking at him as if he couldn't believe there was such a person who could do what he did.

Shintarou then tried to change the topic by putting up a serious front and deciding to move on with the serious talk. "That aside, we should really start with 'the talk' already. So," He cleared his throat. "Why a—"

"I told you, don't talk to me,"

Before Shintarou could even finish his sentence, Hibiya cut him off with a glare. The red jacketed lad looked over him, curious as to why he was being rather reclusive. It reminded him of himself—back then, when he was still in his room where he shut himself in. This similarity was what intrigued him to know more about this child, not counting his sister's annoying insistence of telling him off for his attitude. He decided to continue the supposed conversation despite Hibiya's uncooperativeness.

"Can you at least answer one question?" He asked, on which Hibiya responded with an exasperated sigh. He looked away, crossing his arms, as if he didn't want to be involved with him. Shintarou took that as a 'yes' though. "Why are you acting this way?"

Hibiya was quiet for a moment, before he turned to the eighteen year old with a scowl on his face. "Because this is stupid; that's why!"

Shintarou showed a confused look. He didn't even have to ask further for an explanation as Hibiya began to flare up. "Why do I even have to stay here? Because of my—this absurd 'eye ability' that I supposedly have? I don't even care about this! I still have to look for her! Staying here with you guys, it's a waste of time! I have to find Hiyori!"

Hibiya had stood up from the sofa he was sitting on by the time he stopped yelling at Shintarou, the older one surprisingly taking in everything calmly. The twelve year old was breathing slightly heavily, his hands clenched at his shorts as he looked down at his feet. His hands were trembling.

Shintarou let out a sigh. "As much as I'd like you to find this friend of yours as soon as possible, you're still just a kid," He eyed the child carefully. "It's not safe for you to be out there alone,"

Hibiya was clearly infuriated at the statement. He took his eyes off the floor and glared at the NEET with eyes not that of a child. "_Shut up,_" His hands clenched tighter. "You don't know anything,"

Shintarou stared at the angered child, his calm composure unwavering. He straightened his back as he said, "That's why we'll help you," He showed a slight smile. "My little sister, you know, she wants to help, really. She's just really weird, so she can be annoying at times,"

The NEET laughed, trying to lift up the tense atmosphere between them. "What do you say?"

Hibiya was silent, his glare towards Shintarou gone as he now turned back to looking down at the floor. He suddenly sat back on the sofa, which was probably a sign that he was already calming down. He still refused to look at the older one.

Shintarou noticed, but continued on with the conversation. "So, do you mind telling who Hiyori is?"

Hibiya visibly flinched at the mention of her name. His hands began to play with each other. His mouth opened and closed as if he was having trouble talking, and Shintarou watched him as he did. He patiently waited for the child to share his story.

"She…" Hibiya started. His linked hands clenched tightly together. "She was… _is _my friend…" Shintarou leaned closer to hear what the brunette was saying. "Ah… I don't even know if she… thought of me as a friend… Actually, I don't even know if we were considered to be friends…"

Shintarou shot a confused look and was about to question that, but he figured he didn't want to interrupt him while he was even having trouble from telling what had happened. Hibiya continued, "Ah… Anyway… It was just supposed to be a short trip to the city—we'd buy a cellphone for me, while she was going to see her favorite idol…"

At that, he looked at Shintarou in the eye, as he said, "Which happened to apparently be your little sister," The eighteen year old nodded, silently telling the child to continue. He was slightly relieved that he could at least make eye contact. "But then…" Hibiya's eyes were suddenly downcast, breaking away the eye contact. "She… died…"

Shintarou's eyes widened, a sudden flash in his mind, a lone boy in his room buried in regrets. There was a moment of silence as the eighteen year old processed what the child had said. His friend died? _Ah, they were the same._

A sudden burst of motivation welled up inside him. Right before his eyes was a child that could end up like him. He could become a shut-in NEET that stayed in his room, only thinking about his regrets and not wanting to forget about this person he cared about. He didn't want that to happen to this child.

"We… She got hit by a truck…" Hibiya's voice trembled. From Shintarou's point of view, he could see that even though the twelve year old was looking down, his eyes were brimming with tears. He didn't say anything about it. "She… She got pierced… by a pole…"

Shintarou showed a look of shock. "She… fell down the stairs… She died… again… and again… and again…!"

Hibiya was trying not to cry, but tears were already lightly trailing down his cheeks. He furiously wiped them away. "It was just a dream! It's supposed be just a dream! She didn't die! She's… She's alive!" Hibiya's crying voice trembled. "That's why… That's why I have to find her… She's just somewhere out there… I have to… find her…"

It was silent except for Hibiya's restrained sobs, and the mocking sounds of the cicadas beyond the window. The child tried to stop the tears from flowing; she wouldn't like it if he cried. She would say he looked disgusting, and would refuse to touch him for the next few hours. She would have offered him handkerchief though…

He suddenly felt a hand gently placed on his head. He momentarily stopped crying as he looked at the side, a blurry image of red and brown standing beside him. No words were exchanged as Shintarou sat beside him, his hand gently patting his head as an attempt to comfort him. The unexpected actions of the eighteen year old surprised the child, making him cry freely and let his feelings out.

_"I know how you feel,"_ Shintarou thought. _"We'll definitely help you. We'll find your friend,"_

_"You won't turn into a rotten boy like me,"_

Beyond the sofa where the two lads sat, a door opened ajar, a pair of orange eyes looking over them with a lighthearted look. She turned to her companions, closing the door behind her silently, and told them that it seemed that they had to go somewhere else for a while longer.

.

"Aah, uh…"

Shintarou heard someone from the side, unplugging his earphones from his ears, and there he saw Hibiya standing with a rather embarrassed look on his face. The eighteen year old was sitting on the sofa—the same sofa where Hibiya cried as he tried to comfort him a few days ago.

"Oh, Hibiya," Shintarou acknowledged his presence, easily figuring out that the child came up to him for something. "Do you need something?"

The brunette fiddled with his fingers, a little shy from talking to him. "Uh, can I… borrow your phone? B-But without Ene please."

Shintarou eyed him for a moment, before handing him his phone that he held in his hand. "Yeah, sure. Ene's in Momo's phone, as I last recalled, so you should be fine."

Hibiya's face brightened, a smile showing on his face. "Thanks, big bro!"

He gladly took the phone, his eyes sparkling as he browsed at the supposedly foreign device he held in his hands. Shintarou was genuinely surprised at what he called him. He didn't expect the brat to actually warm up to him. He could only smile as he watch the child fumble with his phone, rather thankful that he won't be called 'old man' from now on.

"Oh, so you're calling big brother, big bro now, huh?" Momo suddenly appeared as she ruffled Hibiya's hair, effectively annoying the child. "Looks like the talk between you two went well~!"

Hibiya clicked his tongue. "Get off me, old lady. Can't you see I'm doing something?"

The orange haired's smile froze. Hibiya tried to shove her off as the usual bratty Hibiya surfaced back. "You brat!" She attempted to pinch his cheek, but the brunette managed to get away from her. "I thought you two had a decent talk!"

"Pft," Hibiya scoffed. "Just because we talked doesn't mean you're not an old lady anymore,"

"You little—"

And it was another day in the hideout. Except this time, Hibiya was smiling. And Shintarou was smiling.


End file.
